Ryan and I have been saving to travel somewhere for a while since after we got married. It was hard to plan during that time because the international borders have just started to open. We started travelling locally for a while but it was still different since it wasn’t really a couples vacation - we had our alone time but we also spent time with some friends.
Fast forward to the end of 2024 when we decided to just book the trip we have been saving up for in the last 2-3 years. When doing our research, we were looking at either Japan or Fiji. Two very different countries and experiences. After going back and forth a lot, we decided to go with Fiji.
We asked for a quote from Flight Centre and after calculating the cost of everything, we booked our trip! I will have links to the resorts and activities we did at the end of this post.
Details of the trip
Our travel dates were 30 May 2025 - 6 June 2025. We flew with Fiji Airways (except for Wellington to Auckland which was with Jetstar).
The purpose of our trip was to switch off, relax, and celebrate our anniversary. We haven’t had a trip with just the two of us and relax since our honeymoon in 2021. This was the perfect time to do this.
We stayed in Denarau Island and stayed at the Hilton Fiji Beach Resort & Spa. Denarau Island is home to a lot of the 5-star resorts in Fiji. It’s easy to get around the different resorts if you want to resort hop. You can take the Bula Bus and this basically goes in a loop around all the resorts and then gets you to Port Denarau. Port Denarau is the central hub for both tourists and locals. You can find local restaurants and cafes here as well as booking your tours and going on your tours.
Accommodation details
Our experience staying at the Hilton Fiji was great. The hospitality was top-notch, amenities were complete, the resort is one of the biggest resorts on the island. It has three restaurants, a gym, a spa, the Bula Express (which goes around the resort and can take you from your room to anywhere you want in the resort), a kids club, and nine swimming pools (two adult only pools). All the staff around the resort were really helpful and friendly with all of our questions.
We did observe that they can get quite understaffed especially during the breakfast and dinner services, which is two of their busiest services. Island time was also taken seriously when they didn’t immediately clean up our room service dishes outside our door (this was the instructions and we had to cover the plates due to the birds). The offerings for their spa was extensive but they didn’t have a separate couples massage package. Just keep this in mind if you are thinking about staying here.
We spent most of our time relaxing at the pools of the resort. Not always swimming but just lounging pool side as well. You can order food and drinks and they take it to your umbrella or cabana. Just make sure you have your card with you so you can pay (if you didn’t set up room charges).
By the way, we booked airport transfers to and from the hotel with Flight Centre too. This just made it easier for us and we didn’t have to stress about booking taxis or anything like that.
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We also tried some of the neighbouring hotels’ services.
First up, Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa. Their lobby was modern and looked luxurious from when we first stepped foot. They have a Pure Fiji store on-site, a few restaurants (we only tried two + their cafe), pools, and a spa. Walking through their lobby, you can view the pools from there and a little bit of the beach. We tried Solis Restaurant for lunch and KOKO restaurant for dinner on different days. We also tried their pastries and drinks at the La Parisienne bakery. The one thing you can’t fault in Fiji is their food. Everywhere we went, the food was great. We also booked a couple’s massage at Sofitel’s Spa which was very relaxing. We were asked to keep our essentials in a locker in the changing room and we changed into the robes they provided. We also chose a beverage for after our spa session.
The second and last hotel we checked out was the Sheraton Fiji Golf & Beach Resort. This hotel was the epitome of luxury in the island. It was giving Crazy Rich Asians vibes. We booked dinner at one of their restaurants which was the Tatavu Grill & Bar for our anniversary celebration. Our table was by the beach front which was perfect for the view. There was a fire show performance that night but it was on the other side of the restaurant so we couldn’t see from where we were sitting. We chose this restaurant because they had a lot of seafood offerings which did not disappoint. We stayed for dessert but we weren’t expecting them to give us a free chocolate cake for our anniversary. It was such a lovely surprise along with a song for our anniversary too.
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Final thoughts
Our Fiji experience was so great last year and just what we needed. Normally, when we travel we have a list of things to do, but this time around, since we were in Fiji, our goal was to disconnect and relax. I'm not really a fan of hot weather but being on a tropical island for a week was quite nice. The heat was different to what we experience in New Zealand. Funny thing is, we were already talking about coming back before we even left. That's how much we loved this trip!
Hotels and experiences mentioned:
Hilton Fiji Beach Resort & Spa
Sheraton Fiji Golf & Beach Resort
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